Incongruities

So far we've spent most of our time here wandering around the centre of Edinburgh. There's much to admire. Yesterday we enjoyed and endured in roughly equal measures a windswept afternoon exploring the Castle. It was considerably colder than on our first day when we'd been warmed by the glow of the Christmas market adjacent to Princes Street. That was just one of several memorable seasonal markets we've had the pleasure of roaming (usually in the gloaming) on our stay, and probably the best, offering  more for kids than the one in Manchester.

We came back to the apartment to the dreadful news of the attack on the Christmas market at Berlin, with coverage of the tightened security at similar markets throughout the UK. It was difficult to take in the unfolding horror. Just as the haunting images from Aleppo over the last few weeks don't seem to belong to any world we know. The trouble is, though, is that they're as real as the happiness of buying tartan scarves and silly fridge magnets.